As I noted then, Obama won the argument. Following last month’s debate, most Americans — particularly independents — say the “gas tax holiday” is bad idea. And vastly more Americans trust Obama to tackle gas prices than McCain.

CNN reports that starting today, McCain will “resurrect his call for a national gas tax holiday.” But with a little bit of a twist:

Before a fundraiser in Richmond, Virginia on Monday, McCain mentioned the gas tax holiday in remarks to a smaller event for about 40 high-dollar donors. “That was derided by Sen. Obama and others as a gimmick,” McCain said, but added that working people and truckers would appreciate it.

“I don’t pretend that it’s an answer to our energy problems,” he said.

To say that it’s not “an answer” is literally a weak argument.

McCain may feel he needs to downplay the impact to deflect the charges of pandering that threaten his “straight talk” image.

But it only raises the question: if it’s not the answer, why mention it all?

A mass refusal by the public to watch Donald Trump on TV will deprive him of big ratings, which he routinely uses to create a false impression of widespread popularity.

About Bill Scher

Bill Scher is the Online Campaign Manager at Campaign for America's Future, and the executive editor of LiberalOasis.com. He is the author of Wait! Don't Move To Canada!: A Stay-and-Fight Strategy to Win Back America, a regular contributor to Bloggingheads.tv and host of the LiberalOasis Radio Show weekly podcast. He has opinion articles that have been published by the New York Times, Minneapolis Star Tribune and Omaha World-Herald, and has made appearances on CNN, MSNBC and NPR among other TV and radio outlets.